STUDENT PICKS: Projection of Myth

by Sophie Lei '20

Student Picks is a SCMA program in which Smith students organize their own one-day art show using our collection of works on paper. This month’s student curator and guest blogger Sophie Lei '20 discusses her show "Projection of Myth: Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them" which will be on view FRIDAY, December 2 from 12-4 PM in the Cunningham Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs. We hope to see you there!

Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Japanese (1798 - 1861). Kuwana, Station 43, from the series Fifty-three Pairs of the Tokaido, n.d. Woodcut printed in color on paper. Purchased with the Winthrop Hillyer Fund. SC 1915:10-25

Fantasy breeds our imagination, and imagination encircles the world. Since I was a child, I’ve dreamed about falling into a rabbit hole, hearing mermaids singing under moonlight, falling in love with vampires and attending Hogwarts. Illustrations of fairy tales were the keys to other worlds for me. That’s how the young me viewed art: a medium projecting the endless possibilities of the world.

William Wegman. American (1943 - ). Adult Embryo, 1989. Polaroid Polacolor II print. Purchased with the gift of the National Endowment for the Arts and Joan Lebold Cohen, class of 1954, in honor of Jerome A. Cohen. SC 1990:8

As I’ve grown older, I’ve started to explore the many possible narratives and presentations of art. I’m always surprised at the different perspectives that artists choose to capture the story, like Joe McHugh’s White Rabbit, Keep Your Head and Barry Moser’s Alice, Her Sister and White Rabbit.

Art that comes directly from imagination and enchants the viewer by merging fantasy and reality is fascinating as well, like Sandy Skoglund’s Revenge of the Goldfish. In summary, this exhibition includes works on myth and fantasy from different cultures over a time span of 200 years, all telling their own stories.